Artemis Fowl and the Fairy Deal
by obsessivereader95
Summary: Artemis has gone back to his evil ways, but why? Opal's back! EVENTUAL A/H Romance for undisclosed reasons.
1. Gone

"ARTEMIS FOWL THE SECOND! Get down here, NOW!"

Angeline Fowl's voice carried through the house as if she had a megaphone.

"You'd think that in a house this big you wouldn't even be able to hear her," Butler, Artemis' bodyguard, commented wryly. His charge was in his study, trying to work on his Ice Cube.

"Butler! Where is Arty?" Artemis Fowl the First burst into the room. His ears were ringing from his wife's shrieking downstairs.

"He's in his study. He refuses to come out, and learned last time that if he doesn't want to come out, you don't try to make him," Butler chuckled softly at the memory, "He has a defense set up. It is most unpleasant to have your eyebrows singed by a door."

"Arty! Please! I don't want to hear your mother's screams for the next half-hour. She just needs your help babysitting the twins this afternoon. Juliet and Butler will be busy helping decorate. Artemis! Are you even listening to me?" Artemis' father suddenly sounded anxious. That wasn't good.

Artemis' mother was a magnet for anxiety.

"ARTEMIS!" she screeched when she got to the room, "Are you ignoring me?" She then noticed her husband's and Butler's expressions. "Am I missing something here?"

"…Artemis?" Mr. Fowl asked softly. He tapped lightly on the door. It swung open at his touch.

Inside the study, the Fowls and their son's bodyguard saw the Ice Cube lying haphazardly on its side. The window was open a crack, letting in the crisp, cool autumn air. Notes were strewn about on the desk.

Artemis was nowhere to be seen.

_3 hours earlier_

Holly was aboveground when the call came in.

"_Holly!" _Foaly's voice came over through her helmet so loudly she temporarily lost control of her wings.

"D'arvit, Foaly! Are you trying to kill me?" she replied angrily.

He didn't bother with an apology, "Where are you? Never mind, you're at the Irish hotspot. That's good. Listen, I don't have much time. Past Opal just broke Present Opal out of jail." All color drained from Holly's face. She almost didn't notice what Foaly said next (emphasis on almost), "I need you to go to Fowl if it isn't already too late."

She didn't reply. She hung up with Foaly and pulled out the fairy communicator that connected her to Artemis. It rung for a few seconds until Artemis finally answered.

"She is back, isn't she?" he sighed when he was greeted by a confirming silence. "When do I get that call that says you'll be coming for a peaceful visit?"

"Artemis, you're still counting your words," was all she could say.

"I try not to," he deliberately made his reply have four words. _Oh, that dreaded number four!_ He thought silently.

On the other end, Holly sighed. _Poor Artemis. Stupid Opal. Stupid Atlantis Complex. Stupid… oh you get the picture!_ She finally reached Fowl Manor and found Artemis in his study.

"Hey," she said timidly.

He looked up, mumbled "hi," and got back to work with his Ice Cube.

She sat down and looked out the window. Artemis had left it open a crack to allow a breeze. She watched intently to make sure there was no immediate threat. She then turned to face Artemis.

He looked up, feeling her gaze. They made eye contact for a few seconds, one golden and one blue peering closely at her. Holly looked down and blushed.

"Do you want me to… stay here?" she asked awkwardly. "I just wanted to see for sure that you were okay."

"I'm sure Butler can watch over me," he replied softly. Then, he grinned, "Besides, when am I known to get in trouble?"

This broke the tension. Holly laughed. After a few moments hesitation, Artemis joined in. Holly had only heard him laugh on rare occasions. She guiltily loved the sound of it.

It was cut short when Foaly came to her speakers again, saying, "She's on the move! Holly! We've tracked her to the hotspot in Paris! Get over there stat!"

"Gotta go!" she called to Artemis.

"I'll try not to get into a life-threatening situation while you're gone."

"Now's not the time to joke about that, Mud boy," she said sternly.

"Of course not, Captain," he replied looking mischievous.

"Artemis…" she looked Artemis squarely in the eye, "Promise me you'll help us keep people safe."

"On my honor, Holly," he said looking stern, "I promise to keep as many people, fairy and mud men alike, safe from death as possible."

"I'll hold you to that, Arty."

"Good luck."

And with that, Holly flew off into the night.

Shortly after Captain Short left the building

Artemis had been expecting this for a long time. He knew the decoy had been sent to Paris to distract Holly. He also knew where the real Opal was. He noticed the shimmer before Holly had even cleared the building.

"Honestly, Koboi? You'd think that after all this you had at least learned patience!"

Opal just sneered.

"I expected you to come earlier," he said. "Do you agree with the terms?"

"I am not an idiot, Fowl! What trickery do you have up your sleeve?"

He sighed, "I have a yearning to go back to simpler days when crime wasn't so wrong to me."

"So now you've decided to do crime for a price. It's a hefty bargain, too. Very hard to resist, yet I question your motives."

"I have made promises I intend to keep, Koboi," he said softly. He then heard his mother screaming at him to go downstairs. "It is time we leave."

Opal smiled. _This is going to be fun! _she thought greedily as she and her own personal genius sod himself as her slave.


	2. Gone Part 2

**Forgot the disclaimer last time! Sorry! I don't own Artemis Fowl. *cries silently* I'm not a genius like Eoin Colfer. I am merely annoyed at the ideas in my head…**

Holly knew something was wrong the second she got on the windowsill in Artemis' room. Artemis usually followed her to see her off and watch her fly away.

This time however, he remained where he was. She took a passing glance at him on her way out. The ex-criminal was staring at a spot on his wall slightly to her left. As she flew away, she noticed a slight haze in the air.

_No_, she thought vehemently, _it's just my imagination_.

She turned her attention to Foaly who was relaying the location, "I think she's after Fowl's girlfriend. Miss Paradizo is currently attending an opera in the area. Trouble-" Foaly took a second to chuckle, "Your _boyfriend_ refuses to let you get involved. His excuse is that it'd be what Opal wants, but he really just doesn't want you getting hurt."

Holly scoffed, "That's stupid. I'm almost there, and this might be our only chance at getting her back!"

In truth, Holly knew that the chances of them actually succeeding at capturing Opal were next to nothing. She also knew that they weren't safe until Past Opal was caught. She was actually expecting this to turn into a never-ending circle: (1) LEP catches Present Opal. (2) Past Opal frees Present Opal. (3) Both Opals run off and carry out plans until the LEP catches Present Opal again. (4) Back to square 1.

The only way to break the cycle was to abduct Past Opal first. So, naturally, Past Opal would never show her ugly face to keep from ruining their big schemes.

She was surprised to find that she was wrong.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=TFD=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Since the Complex, Artemis had become quite a bit more social. His mother had convinced him to wear t-shirts and jeans ("As long as they don't have those nonsensical words all over them," he had demanded with a look of disdain towards the shirts his mother had placed in his room) through a series of guilt trips and personal threats. He had decided himself that his slicked hair looked ridiculous with his new wardrobe. It had been a shock to the whole world, especially Holly, when Artemis came down one morning with mussed-up hair and a light green shirt.

By the time Artemis started a long-distance relationship with Minerva, his parents were beyond the shock. Butler had been expecting it ever since Artemis first laughed at Minerva's joke.

Minerva was a sweet but spoiled girl. Her father did whatever she told him to. After all, she was the smart one.

On the night of Opal's escape, Minerva had seen a change in Artemis. He was usually very in control of what the Complex did to him. A few fives here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary.

They were on another "computer date" when she noticed. He had glanced around the room nervously and was constantly tapping out in multiples of five. Minerva pretended not to notice. Their conversation was interrupted when Holly's call came in.

"She is back, isn't she?" he had said into his finger. He sighed at whatever the response had been, and then said, "When do I get that call that says you'll be coming for a peaceful visit?"

When they hung up, Artemis turned to Minerva's face on the monitor, "I am sorry Miss Paradizo, but this is urgent. I will talk to you later." He hung up, secretly and somewhat guiltily relieved.

Minerva stared at her screen. She couldn't help but notice that he had been counting his words the whole time. _Poor Artemis_. She looked at the clock. It was time for her opera. She decided to forget about her boyfriend for the time-being. He could handle himself. _Well_…at least Holly was going to be visiting him soon. She grabbed her coat and left for the theater.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=TFD=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Night fell as both Holly and Minerva made their ways to the opera theater. Minerva arrived at the beginning. Holly reached it as the show started its second act.

As she scanned the area for Opal, she couldn't help but notice the ridiculously high, loud notes the insanely small girl was singing on stage.

_How do they do that?_ she asked herself.

Then Foaly came back up, "We've got a lock on Opal's location. She's inside the building. I'll send you a layout. She's the red dot on the balcony. Be careful, Holly. We all know it's a trap. What else can anyone expect from Opal? We haven't figured out if it's Past Opal or Present, but it's a pretty safe bet that she's from our time."

"Hungry?" Past Opal asked when Holly touched down next to her, Neutrino 3000 pointed to the spot right between her eyes. Opal held out a tin filled with bonbons. Holly looked bewildered. Opal just laughed.

"You're under arrest," Holly said with as much authority as she could muster faced with a container of chocolate.

Opal shrugged, "Fine." She held out her hands which Holly cuffed immediately.

Foaly was just as surprised as Holly, "She must be planning something. I've already swept her for bugs. There's nothing on her. Just get her down as fast as possible.

Minerva never even noticed the threat.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=TFD=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Below the earth in Haven, the LEPrecon unit was going frantic. She was planning something, they were sure of it. The exchange happened without incident, though. They mind-wiped Opal to the point that there was no way she would ever remember what had happened.

"Good luck, Miss Short," she had cackled out right before the wipe.

Artemis! Holly thought. Her face drained completely of all color as she pulled out her communicator.

It rung for a while before someone finally answered.

"Holly?" was his muffled reply.

"Artemis! I was so worried! She didn't even resist! She offered _chocolates!_ It was Past Opal, too. She's been wiped and sent back, but-"

The voice on the other line interrupted her nervous babbling, "So he is with you? That's great. Why'd he leave his ring? Okay. I understand," his voice grew fainter as he called over his shoulder to Artemis' anxious parents. "He's with a friend."

Holly, catching on, told him a retrieval team was on the way to bring him to Police Plaza.

Artemis Senior was still fascinated with the ring in Butler's hand, but was obviously relieved to hear that his eldest son was alright. _What friend this time?_ he asked himself. Artemis' mother was not fooled. She had trained herself to tell when Artemis II was lying. She could easily detect a lie by now. She tried to convince herself that Butler was just nervous about Artemis, but she knew that Butler trusted Holly beyond anyone else with his charge's life. In the end, she convinced herself it was trauma. _Besides, where else could he be?_

**Sorry that took so long to get up. *sheepishly looks down* I forgot to save it before exiting and had to rewrite it.**

**~or95 **


	3. Millie

**I… don't… own… Artemis… Fowl… (if that's not already completely obvious)**

"Well isn't this lovely?" said the sickly sweet voice of Opal Koboi.

"Koboi," Holly growled from inside the Ops Booth. Opal was projecting herself to the entire LEP area.

"Oh, but I'm not the only one, Holly, dear! You know that, right?" she cackled manically. _She really has lost her mind…_ Holly thought.

Butler was gazing intently at the screen. Foaly was munching on a carrot, looking on disinterestedly. Mulch had disappeared into the snack basket they had been provided. Then, Artemis popped up on screen.

Holly froze mid-growl. Foaly choked on his carrot. Butler didn't move.

Artemis wasn't strapped to a chair as they had expected. He was smiling at them in that vampire way of his.

There was a splitting noise in the back of the Ops Booth. Mulch surfaced, "We're out of vole curry!" he exclaimed, not noticing the tension in the room. He looked at the screen and paled considerably.

"And how are you, Mulch?"

"F-fine, Arty," he replied, trying to shake off the shivers Artemis' regained iciness caused.

'Arty' scowled, "Let's get this over with."

"Aw! But I'm having fun! Tell them Arty! Tell them that you hate them!"

"I severely hate each and every one of you people."

Holly noticed a peculiar slump to Artemis' posture as he relayed the message. His icy cold eye seemed to penetrate deeper as he met everyone's stares. Somehow, he just couldn't force the hazel one to convey indifference. There was certain iciness, but it seemed as though it was only on the surface. Of course, voicing her opinion would just confuse everyone. Besides, it could always be her imagination.

"I-I don't believe you," she said, surprised to hear the quaver in her own voice.

"Well, believe it, Holly," Artemis drawled. Was it her imagination, or did it sound like Arty was pleading with her to believe it?

"Arty, here, helped me with my latest project. You see, the past me inspired the real me to continue my extractions of animal brain fluid. Do you want to know the latest development?" she paused for dramatic effect, and continued, "Fairies!"

All color drained from every face.

"The missing fairies, as you've probably already figured out, were mine and little Arty's doing!" she beamed, obviously delighted with herself. "See for yourselves!" The camera zoomed out to include a shot of all the fairies behind them. They were in a room that was only accessible from the outside. There were men, women, and even children. All oblivious to what was going on except for two elves just outside the door. "Ooh! What do we have here? Snoopers?"

"Opal," Artemis said it like a warning.

"They must be punished Arty," Opal tutted. "Amos, Teo, bring in the offenders!"

Two obscenely large pixies carried in the 'offenders.' It was a little girl and her mother.

"I do believe it is your turn," Opal said with a crooked smile, handing Artemis a small blade. Artemis turned from the camera, so Holly couldn't see his expression.

He knelt next to the girl, looking to the entire world like he wanted to do this. The only person who could see his face was the little elfin child. "No," said the girl's mother, "Please! Punish me instead! She's just a child!" Opal just cackled.

"You've been a naughty girl, haven't you?" Butler recognized the voice as one Artemis used when the twins had trashed his room. It had an infuriating calm, coldness to it.

"No!" said the girl, sounding just like Beckett. Her mother was still pleading with them.

"I guess you need a lesson in manners, then," still the icy-cold voice. He pulled the girl's arm toward him and stopped. He was waiting for something.

"Artemis, cut her," Opal said in a commanding tone, triumphant fire blazing in her eyes, "Now!"

Artemis cut the protesting girl on her arm. She immediately burst into tears and her mother took her in her arms. The guards escorted them out.

Opal smiled sinisterly. "I think that's all the proof you need," she said to the horrified audience. Artemis didn't look up. She cut the connection. As soon as the lights blinked out, Opal scowled at Artemis, "I expect a better performance from you next time, Fowl."

When he left the technical booth, the little girl Artemis had been ordered to cut ran up to him.

"Why would you do that?" she asked through the tears.

Artemis could see the girl's mother looking through the crowd for her daughter. No doubt the girl had pried herself loose to come ask him. He knelt down to the child's height and asked, "What's your name?"

"Millie," she said with a defiant glint in her watery eyes.

"And Millie, did you know you're magical?"

Millie scoffed, "Of course! I'm not stupid!"

Artemis chuckled softly, "I can see that. Do you know how to heal yourself?"

The defiant glint was replaced by a downcast expression. "No," she admitted, "Mommy's tried teaching me, but I just can't do it!"

"Can I try helping you?" he asked softly.

She shrugged, still looking down.

"Okay, close your eyes," he commanded. She quickly obeyed. He smiled at her innocence. She was too trusting for her own good. "Now concentrate on the pain. Warm it up in your mind, and imagine it slowly going away." He watched in silence as a few hesitant sparks issued themselves toward the cut. It sealed itself and faded until nothing was left.

She looked in amazement at the previously bloody spot on her arm. "Thank you," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around the mud boy's neck. He froze awkwardly and proceeded to gently pry her arms away. He noticed Millie's mother looking at them. She was rooted to the spot. Her face was a mix of shock, anger, and confusion. She wouldn't stay like that for long. If there was one thing Artemis had learned about mothers, it was that they were very protective of their children.

Artemis put his hands on Millie's shoulders. "I believe your mother is looking for you." He pushed her off to the fast-approaching elfin woman.

Millie stayed by Artemis's side, though. When her mother reached them, she pulled her into an all-encompassing hug. She was about to shoot Artemis a death glare and some rather rude comments but stopped at the expression on the mud boy's face. He looked depressed, maybe even homesick. She could think of a thousand reasons to kill him on the spot, but instead, she turned to her gibbering daughter.

"Millie! Sweetheart! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Mommy! Lookie what the mud boy taught me to do!" she held out her healed arm proudly.

"That's wonderful, sweetie." She gave Artemis a sideways glance, "What's your name, boy?"

Artemis winced, "I cannot freely give that."

She still looked suspicious. Artemis was _almost_ glad when he received his summon from Opal.

He looked at the communicator in dread, then addressed the elves in front of him, "I must go now, ma'am. It was nice to meet you and your-" he looked at Millie with a genuine smile, "-charming daughter." He strode to the exit.

"Mommy? Can we have him over for dinner sometime? He seems lonely."

Millie's mother smiled at her daughter. She was thinking that perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea. As long as he was never out of her sight and definitely never in possession of a knife. She would always have that image of him cutting into her child's arm scarred into her thoughts. Just as he would always have the image of that demon sword piercing Holly's skin burned into his mind.

"Mommy, why did the mud boy cut me?" asked Millie, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"I suppose it was because he wanted to," replied her mother, icily.

Millie looked up, still confused, "Then why did he look scared?"

**And…cut! I love little Millie! She's such a cutie! I had a blast writing this chapter. (Kinda sad, huh?)**

**~or95**


	4. Dinner

**.lwoF simetrA nwo ton od I **

Holly almost cried as the picture disappeared.

Mulch was still staring at the screen as if his favorite food had given him indigestion. Butler had on a calm façade, but internally, he was beyond horrified. The feelings inside him were warring with each other. Foaly was already busy typing. He was in genius mode: no boasting, no horror, nothing beyond technical thought, and absolutely no emotion.

Trouble Kelp burst into the room. "I can't keep all the officers away much longer. Some of them have relatives in that… that prison! They're prepared to break in by force. The threat of being fired left their minds when they realized they had the entire LEP behind them. Some of them have even sent that video to all their friends!" he finished in a rush.

Holly was still looking at the screen, close to tears. _I won't cry!_ she kept repeating to herself. She turned her attention to the commander, "He must be… I don't know! Maybe he's being tortured, or something! This isn't like Artemis!" She looked pleadingly at her boyfriend.

Trouble sighed, "Look, I wouldn't expect a girl to understand, but-"

"WHAT?" Holly exclaimed, indignantly. "What the Frond does my being a girl have to do with-"

"Nothing, Holly!" Trouble interrupted. "It's just that girls don't usually-"

"I thought you said it had NOTHING to do with me being a girl?"

"Holly, please! I was merely suggesting-" Trouble began gently.

Holly cut him off, "I don't care anymore. Just tell me what you came here to say."

"I already did! Frond, you girls have short attention spans! And short tempers!"

Holly looked affronted. She shook her head to keep from reaching for her Neutrino, "I don't think I can talk to you anymore, Trouble."

"What?" he asked, hollowly.

"Please, just leave. We're through." **(I can't tell you how long I've waited to type that!)**

Trouble looked outraged and hurt as he stormed through the Ops Booth doors. He lightened a little when he was out, though. He'd forgotten the feeling of being single. His face as he'd stormed out was just an act. Trouble and Holly had been having relationship problems for a while. He knew she wanted him to break up with her, but he wasn't one for breaking hearts, so he tried to convince her to break up with him. He had been using every annoying tactic he could think up. Being sexist was his last resort. His problem now was how to deal with a crowd of ticked off trained professionals…

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Artemis spent the majority of his time in his chambers. He had six, none of them pleasant.

When he wasn't in his horrible rooms, he was with the rest of the prisoners. Most of them looked at him in either fear or hatred. A lot of the time, it was both. The only person that wasn't scared of him was Millie. She would hang around Artemis when all the other children were playing. When he tried to push her toward kids her age, she would ask him to come with her. He'd look at the children and their parents with a small fear of his own then tell her no. After a day or two, Artemis got used to the company. The others stopped gawking.

The second day, Artemis was sitting in the mess hall for breakfast when Millie came skipping up. She looked at him sweetly until he faced her. He smiled at her pleading expression, "What is it, Miss Millie?"

She tentatively replied, "Um…" Then it all came out in a rush, "Wiyoucomdinwithus?"

Artemis sighed, "Just a little slower, please."

"Will you… come to dinner with us tonight?"

He looked a little taken aback. Dinner was the only meal prisoners were allowed to have in their chambers. He softly replied, "No, Millie. I am sorry, but I do not think your mother would be very happy with that little arrangement."

"Nonsense," said Millie's mother. She had come to see why Millie looked so disappointed. Now, she had a fierce, determined light in her eyes, "You will come to dinner with us tonight."

The boy looked surprised and more than a little wary. Artemis didn't have the energy to have his mask set permanently, so Millie's mother saw the emotions flicker across his face, ending with an expression of mistrust. Before he could reply, the woman walked away with her child in tow. Artemis watched them leave, bewildered. He was still getting death glares from the other elves, so he finished his breakfast and left for the dismal chamber four.

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Millie showed up at Artemis' chambers a few minutes before dinner was supposed to start. She knocked at each of his doors until he answered the fourth one. When the door opened, she saw gray walls with fours painted in black all over them.

"Is this your favorite chamber?" she asked. When he nodded, she continued, "You either really love fours or those other rooms are _really_ terrible."

He laughed without humor, "You haven't the faintest idea."

When they reached Millie's family's chamber, the woman ushered them in. Millie went in first and stopped Artemis in the doorway. "Welcome Sir…?"

He didn't say anything, so she made up a name, "Arthur. You have been invited to dine with the beloved Princess Millie Shea." She held out her hand, "You're supposed to kiss it," she whispered.

He took her hand and knelt down to put it to his lips. "I am honored, Princess Shea," he said, smiling.

She giggled at her mother's shocked face. "Arthur seems too serious a name," Millie said thoughtfully. "Arty will be your nickname!" Artemis stared in outright astonishment at the innocent little elf. He shook his head and looked at Mrs. Shea. She had shaken off her shock, too.

They sat down to a dinner of mud man food. The prisoners hadn't been allowed fairy food because it was too much of a hassle to smuggle it to them.

"So… Arty… do you have any family? I noticed you're good with kids," Mrs. Shea started the conversation.

Artemis stiffened and looked at Millie with a slightly glazed expression. "I have two little brothers," he replied, a little formally.

Millie looked up in awe, "How old are they? Can I meet them? What are their names? Do they like to-"

Her mother cut her off, "What are their names?"

"Myles and Beckett. They're five now. I don't think you'll ever meet them, Millie. And yes, they love to play."

"What about your mother? Isn't she worried about you?" Mrs. Shea asked with concern.

"She thinks I'm with a friend for a few weeks."

Mrs. Shea pressed on, "She 'thinks' you're with a friend? You mean Opal's not a friend?" At this, Arty just laughed bitterly. "Well, I think that's cruel to do to your mother," Mrs. Shea continued.

Artemis didn't say anything for a while. When he broke the silence, he asked, "And what about your family?"

"I'm married to Grub Kelp."

Artemis choked slightly on his water. "The commander's little brother? Since when has he been married?"

Mrs. Shea frowned disapprovingly at him, "A while now."

"Congratulations," Artemis said, still smirking. "Does Trouble Kelp know?"

"How do you even know them?" Artemis noticed that she had avoided the question.

"Trouble and I have known each other for a while. Business matters, you could say…"

They ate their veggie burgers in silence. Neither knowing that mere hours from then, idle chit-chat wouldn't be possible anymore.

**I'm a bad person! I haven't updated my stories in weeks! Sorry people! I still love little Millie! Guess what? I finally wired my brain to be able to read Artemis' dialogue with an Irish accent! It sounds awesome in my head! Oh and that part where Millie makes Arty kiss her hand might become very important in this story. I will try to update more!**

**~or95**


	5. Caught on Tape

**Line I Line d Line o Line n ****Line t Line o Line w Line n Line A Line r Line t Line e Line m Line i Line s Line F Line o Line w Line l ** Line (READ IN BETWEEN THE LINES! And yes, it looks as if I either have no life or I was really bored…spell-check really hates me now…)

"What do you mean?" Holly asked, looking at Foaly strangely. He had just gone off on a rant of gibberish about his camera. _It's a camera._ Holly thought. _There's only so much it can do. _She knew, of course, that cameras were extremely valuable, but she wasn't in the mood to actually care. "Cut to the chase, Foaly. We haven't got all day."

The centaur gave her a pointed look and said, "In other, less complicated words: I have a visual on Artemis."

It was Holly's turn to give the pointed look, "What good does that do us?"

"Loads," was all he said as he turned back to the computer he had been typing away at since their little chat with Opal. He pulled a video up on the big screen. It showed a woman sitting at a table in a very small chamber kitchenette. "We may need to bring…" he coughed while saying the name, "in here."

"Who do you need?" Holly asked, looking suspiciously at the genius, who sighed.

He gulped. "Grub and Trouble," he admitted. Holly looked at him blankly and sent Mulch off to find them.

When he brought them back, Grub looked stricken while Trouble looked perplexed.

An awkward silence ensued. Trouble was the first to break it. Keeping his gaze decidedly averted from a certain female, he cleared his throat, "Um… Foaly, is something wrong?"

"I have something here I need to show you. That is… if Grub doesn't mind you seeing?" Foaly finished, looking imploringly at the Corporal. Grub had already noticed the person onscreen.

"I-I don't mind," he stuttered quickly, looking down guiltily. Then he looked back up with a fierceness no one had ever seen in him before, "Is she alright?"

"She's…um…perfectly fine, actually. Now, just watch," Foaly answered. He pressed a button and the dinner scene from the night before played. The entire room watched intently as Artemis and Millie walked into the room. The conversation seemed weird enough. Grub growled almost menacingly as the traitor Artemis kissed his daughter's hand. Trouble looked at Grub in astonishment, his eyes widening more and more as the dinner proceeded onward.

After the nearly silent meal ended, they sat in the equally dismal living room, which was actually where the Sheas slept.

"Why didn't you take Grub's last name?" Artemis asked while Millie played with a yoyo he had managed to get past Opal.

"He didn't think he was ready to tell Trouble," she explained, sighing. "He has a big heart, but I don't think he can stand up to his brother for anything."

Artemis looked at her sympathetically, "Beckett is the same way. Myles apparently inherited the Fowl genius gene, so Beckett never actually stands up for anything. In his mind, Myles and I will always be there for him. I'm afraid of what that may do to him in later years."

"I'm sure he'll be fine, if he's anything like you. What does she do to you? You always look frightened when she calls you. Why can't you just leave?"

Artemis sighed, "We've been through this before Miss Shea. I can't tell-"

He was cut off by a buzzing in his pocket. His eyes widened as he looked at the message. Foaly's camera zoomed in to see what it said, "Hello, Arty. Hope I'm not interrupting anything. I need you to report to Chamber 3."

"Isn't this the second time today?" Mrs. Shea asked. Artemis winced but said nothing. He got up, walking to the door.

"I'll see you later Mrs. Shea. Enjoy the yoyo Millie," he said over his shoulder.

"Bye, Arty!" she shouted gleefully. Mrs. Shea's eyes never left the retreating Mud boy's back.

All the occupants of the Ops Booth stared dumbfounded at the screen.

Once again, Trouble was the one to break the silence, "Do you have anymore?"

"Yeah," Foaly said softly, "but it doesn't have sound." He glanced up at Grub and continued, "Actually, Grub, as a…father…you may find this part pretty miraculous."

Grub continued to stare blankly at the screen as though it had all the answers. He nodded abruptly, "I want to see more." _Why do they trust the mud boy? Especially after that little scene Opal sent us?_

The footage was rewound to the previous day, showing Millie following Arty around in reverse. The death glares from the other elves didn't even faze the girl, who happily pranced around the pressured teen. Holly was too distracted to even question why they were using a severely outdated webcam.

When they finally reached the moment from the day before, they couldn't quite catch what was happening in reverse, so Foaly pushed a button for it to come into focus.

Artemis walked quietly from the booth he had cut Millie in. Guilt was purely evident on the young man's face. Then Millie came up to him, tears brimming in her eyes. She said something as he looked up to find the girl's mother. He knelt down to her height and began talking to her. Eventually, he chuckled softly and told her something. She complied and promptly closed her eyes. She then healed herself. The look of wonderment on her face explained the inexplicit trust she had gained for the boy. Mrs. Shea finally caught up. They all watched as emotion flooded Artemis' face, none of them believing their eyes. Apparently, the ticked off mother noticed the pain as well. Although she shot daggers at him with her eyes, she instead turned to her daughter. When she turned back to Artemis, they talked a little, causing the guilty look in Artemis' eyes to deepen. He looked both scared and relieved when he received a message much like the last one they'd seen. This one told him to go to Chamber 1. He said his goodbyes and headed for the Chamber.

The screen suddenly went blank and Foaly groaned, "No! Opal must have found my little bug! I made it so inconspicuous, too! I mean, who _expects_ THE Foaly to use a webcam for _this_? Granted, it was _much_ smaller than regular webcams…"

Everyone was in a state of shock.

"Do you think it was an act?" Trouble asked, at last.

Holly looked stricken, "I-I don't know…"

**I know I promised to update more, but I haven't really written much lately…mostly read and edited. **

**RANDOM SHOUT OUT OF THE DAY! This one goes out to all readers in Australia! Gotta love Australia!**


	6. Ouch

**Two sorrows to dish out. 1: I'm ultimately sorry for the LONG delay, but I meant to put this on hiatus. I forgot to inform my readers… 2: I'm sorry for the confusion with the romance! Even **_**I**_** forgot why I put it there for a while… It's just an **_**eventual**_** romance. Gotta hate before they date ;)**

**AHHH! *ground shakes and cracks appear on the walls* IT'S THE END OF THE WOR- oops... Heh, heh. Guess I don't really own Artemis Fowl. *sighs* **

**If you guess the song in the middle of the italicized that I used as a pagebreak, you'll realize it's kind of like a riddle! A sad one, but a riddle nonetheless! P.S. I don't own the song either!**

_The crazed pixie lifted her gun and pointed it straight between her accomplice's eyes. "I can't take it anymore, Fowl! Someone has to die!" Her eyes darted around the room and settled on a spot in the corner. Holly watched in horror from behind the safety of Foaly's desk, not really knowing what to believe. Artemis didn't have the will nor the ability to turn around to see what Opal was so interested in or why she was smiling in her demented state. He knew it wasn't good and decided he'd gotten enough bad news to last a lifetime. _Wouldn't Holly just love to see me, now,_ he thought, staring down the barrel of the Captain's Neutrino. _I bet she'd rather be on the other end of it, though…

_Opal, meanwhile, held her gun aloft, gloating at the fact that she had the great Artemis Fowl II at gunpoint. "You recognize this little trinket, don't you, Arty? A certain friend lent it to me. Of course, I had to modify it a bit. It's a bit more humanlike, don't you think? I used Abbot's sword to make the bullets," Her smile grew wider as his head snapped up, "That's right, Arty. It's magic-proof." She cackled madly again._

_Artemis braced for the impact of the bullet he was sure was headed his way. The gunshot would end it all; no more homesickness, no more pain, no more acting. He was blissfully unaware of the wide, round eyes of most of his favorite people, watching him through the camera. He did notice, however, when a fast movement caught the corner of his eye. He didn't even bat an eyelash, hoping against hope that Opal wouldn't pick up on it. Opal noticed, however, and switched the direction of her gun while keeping her wildly pleasured eyes on the boy she had been determined to kill for years, now. Before Artemis could react, she pulled the trigger, effectively hitting one of Artemis' very few weak spots: Millie._

_**-…one last shot and it felt like a bullet in her heart. Baby why'd you leave me? Why'd you have to go?-**_

_Artemis knelt at the side of the still form of the little girl. Blood seeped from the bullet wound on her shoulder. She looked up at him, her eyes slightly glazing over. "Arty...?" she whispered hoarsely._

"_I'm here, Mills."_

_Her whisper unintentionally reverberated through the room. "I'm sorry I didn't listen." _

"_It's okay, Mills. I know you were only looking out for me," the young man whispered back. _

"_Is she gonna hurt you anymore?" she asked, her hoarse voice taking on a panicked tone. He brushed her hair back. _

"_I don't think so," he answered, knowing that it was only to calm her fears. _

_Hope began to shine in the dying girl's eyes as she interrupted his thoughts, "I…I did well?"_

_Artemis gave a half-hearted smile, "It wasn't supposed to be you, Millie," his voice cracked as the tears glistened in his eyes, "It wasn't supposed to be you."_

_She smiled, "That means I kept you from doing something stupid, Arty. I'm Princess Millie Shea. I have to look over my subjects."_

"_But I'm your knight, Princess, and I was supposed to protect you," he answered. She seemed at a loss for words at that, so he continued. He lifted her hand to his mouth, much like he had that night, not too long ago, before being dubbed Sir Arthur. "It was a pleasure knowing you, Princess," he said as the light faded from her eyes. He kissed the now dead hand of his Princess._

-TFD-

Artemis woke in a cold sweat. His arm was bent awkwardly behind his back, and he could feel a cold, damp towel being pressed to his forehead. He tried to shake it off and sit up, only to find that he couldn't move. Slowly, he pried his heavy eyes open to see Mrs. Shea bent over him with a worried expression. She clucked her tongue in concentration as she tried to remember what to do to bring a human fever down. She smiled lightly upon seeing his mismatched eyes gazing at her in confusion.

"Don't be afraid, Arty. Opal put you here after a little…accident… in one of your chambers. You have a high fever. It'll take a while before it breaks. Is there something I'm missing here, Arty? Do I get to know anytime soon?"

Artemis just continued to stare blankly at her as she gently dabbed the sweat from his brow. The memories started to come back to him. The night before, something had gone wrong with Opal's sedative. It was not unusual, but considering this was her third time, he guessed there had been something a bit more potent than usual in it. That mixed with the sedative already coursing through his veins from earlier must have had a bad reaction. He inwardly winced at the thought that he would die now. It would be better for him and the fairies, but Opal wouldn't let that happen. It would ruin her entire plot.

**Whoa… really didn't expect that one. Originally, that dream was supposed to be the ending (with a lot more that I had to delete to make sense), but I like the thought of making this a romance between Artemis and Holly, and I had NO idea how to make that ending into something between the two. So, in a bout of clarity rising above the somber clouds of writers' block, I realized it all had to be different. Hope you guys liked it. Weak ending, I know… It wasn't even a good cliffy! It's not a very good apology piece, but at least I'm almost done with the next chapter!**


	7. Treatment

**A character's mind is only as big as its creator's. Arty's got a huge mind compared to almost anyone. What makes you think I thought him up? Colfer's the genius. **

Artemis loved mornings. He'd always been the type of person to wake up at six or seven in the morning to wander through the manor or watch the sunrise. This also caused Butler to become a morning person. He was so used to waking up just before Artemis that the fairies' schedules didn't bother him in the least. In fact, most of the time, he woke up just before them. None of the other occupants of the Ops Center questioned this, except for maybe Mulch, who didn't wake until absolutely necessary unless it involved food. He was first up then.

Butler took to just staring around the room as he waited for the others to wake up. Holly was usually up second, opting to leave her uncomfortable position on the only chair (the only one other than Foaly's, of course) in the room. Butler took up too much room on the floor for there to be enough room for the elf to sleep there, but Mulch fit just fine… even if he was a little smelly.

As soon as Holly would wake up, she usually left the center for the Break Room to get them breakfast. This morning, though, she woke up gasping and clutching the arms of her makeshift bed so tightly that the knuckles of her deeply tanned hands turned a pale greenish- white. Butler looked at her with concern, but she immediately got control of herself, muttering under her breath.

Foaly then woke with a startled cry as his computer beeped, and a loud voice came over the speakers, "Audio and visual reestablished. Live feed will be back on in five… four… three… two… one…"

The webcam link had come back up. Foaly immediately got to work, keeping it from shorting out again and trying to figure out what had happened.

Foaly rubbed his forehead, "I can't find any traces of bugs, but Opal could have the technology to keep them out of my range. I wouldn't put it past her. Then there's the fact that _none_ of my other cameras work." The live feed showed a dim, vaguely familiar room. Opal wasn't in it, and neither was Artemis, but there were a few little movements in the background. From the hazy focus of the outdated technology, Holly could just make out the fact that the movements seemed mechanical. "This seems to be the one I had installed in Fowl's… sixth chamber. If Opal follows her little pattern, we should be able to expect some activity in about a day."

Holly glared at the screen, the doubt held in her hazel eye hidden behind a calculating blue one. _We'll get you, Opal, no matter whose side Fowl is on._

% P % P % P % P % P % P % P % P % P % P % P % P % P % P % P % P % P % P % P % P % P % P % P % P % P %

Mrs. Shea spent most of her time in Artemis's chamber now. She bustled about, fussing over him as he recovered from the chemical reaction of the sedatives. Millie, who had already been spending the majority of her time there, informed her that she was not to enter any but the fourth, for some reason. This piqued Mrs. Shea's curiosity, of course, but she respected the Mud man's privacy. Either that or she was biding her time.

Artemis tried to stay low-key when he was well enough to be around the rest of the prisoners. They had taken quite an interest in the fact that Mrs. Shea didn't seem to despise him anymore. They'd all heard what he'd done. No one understood what had changed her mind. They tried to talk to her about it, but all they got was a, "He's not that bad when you get to know him." In the wonderful world of humans, this little development would've alienated them, but these were fairies. They automatically assumed the mud man had some ulterior motive, which caused them to stalk the secret-keepers in worry. All of this was very amusing to Opal.

The criminal genius was currently laughing with feral glee at the dismantled cameras in front of her. She'd left only one unscathed and attached, though she was only just giving Arty's little friends the chance to see the way they had caused their friend to suffer. She knew from her last experimentation that Artemis couldn't take much more draining. She had resorted to giving him sedatives so that the fairies wouldn't hear his screams. After all that hard work, it would have been a shame to have them think of the mud man as their fellow prisoner. _I mean,_ Koboi thought with a malicious glint in her eye, _it's not as if he gets the same treatment._

**Yeah… you'll understand all that eventually. I just really needed to get my plot going. ATTENTION:** **almost all of this goes against what I had originally planned. I don't really know why that merits a** **warning, but… uh…**

**Okay, I am so freaking sorry for the long wait that my head hurts just thinking about it. I guess it just took me so long to get back to this that I thought no one would really be interested in it anymore. Then I got** **a** **note from an anonymous reviewer by the name of "Reddiamond" on a completely unrelated story that** **convinced me to get off my lazy seat and update. If you're still here, thanks for being patient with a** **forgetful, naïve author.**

**Still not my best apology piece, but I guess I've never actually been good at them… even if I should be by now. I realize it's short, and I know the cliffy sucks. I'm tired and cranky, so you'll live.**


	8. Escape

**Getting this done as soon as possible. This will be short. This will be abrupt. This will be crazy. Brace yourselves, for you are entering the dangerous place that I like to call my "manic writing mode." When in this "mode," the quality of the writing changes… a lot. I'm never sure how it'll turn out, but I promise you a fairly long, decently written chapter after this.**

**Why do you people insist on making young, inexperienced authors cry? I should be suing **_**you**_** for asking such a redundant, hurtful question, but I'm not in the mood so I'll just answer it. No, I do not, nor will I ever, own the wonderful series we call "Artemis Fowl."**

"Holly," Foaly said. "We have to do this now. I don't know what Koboi is planning, but it's obvious that it's coming soon. Do you understand?"

Holly stood straighter as she adjusted her new Neutrino properly. Her old one had mysteriously disappeared a few days ago. She raised her mismatched eyes and nodded solemnly.

"I'm ready."

…**Not in the mood for a great line break…**

Artemis gripped the sides of the breakfast table. He was surrounded by well-meaning fairies that couldn't hate him more. Millie was anxiously trying to bat off the glares with a pasted-on smile. Even she seemed to realize the tension in the air was caused by her friend. Mrs. Shea was chatting on amiably to the people closest to her, but they only answered her chatter with one-word sentences, preferring to glare at the mud man who had obviously brainwashed the only people who trusted him.

Debris suddenly blew everywhere as a large explosion sounded from the wall behind them. Artemis held Millie and Mrs. Shea close to him to block them from the brunt of it, though there wasn't much to protect from. When he noticed the short woman running through the large hole in the wall, he exhaled in relief. He let Millie slip from his grasp, but he grabbed Mrs. Shea by the shoulder.

"Go," he whispered urgently. "I'll be with you as soon as I can. Opal kept the place under the least amount of surveillance possible. She's too paranoid Foaly will get the footage. Be careful, and tell Holly…" He trailed off as the crowd of fairies surged away from the blast.

"No!" he heard Holly yell. "We're here to help!"

"Hurry," he said gruffly to the mother, "I'll hold Opal off as long as I can. I need you to go. Now."

Mrs. Shea looked at him indignantly, though Artemis could see worry underlying her expression. "How do you know Holly and Foaly?" she asked rather loudly. Holly's sharp glare suddenly focused on them. He flinched but held his ground.

"Old acquaintances," he said vaguely, "Get Millie to safety. I need you to help Holly convince the others to go with her. Say you've finally broken my spell or something. I know they all think I'm hypnotizing you. Convince to leave, Mrs. Kelp. They need to be gone as soon as possible." She glanced at the small crowd of fairies cowering away from the short elf trying to convince them to leave. She closed her eyes and nodded. Artemis's face relaxed in relief.

"Where will you go?" came a timid voice from beneath them.

Artemis knelt down to her height. Somehow, through some miraculous twist in the universe, Artemis had learned to be good with kids. He blamed it all on the twins' birthday parties and his mother's uncanny knack to appoint him babysitter. "I have something to take care of, Millie. I need you to go with-"

"No," Millie cut him off, gripping his hand. "We're not leaving without you. She'll hurt you again."

He silently wondered if this was the punishment that came with being a criminal all your adolescent life. He seriously doubted it considering he'd never seen a teenage boy stoop to this level, much less a full-grown adult. Then again, he hadn't really met that many coddling adults. He sighed, "Princess Millie, I need you to join Queen Shea on the adventure to your castle. Your father is in need of your company."

"But he'll need his knight, too," she said stubbornly, though Artemis could see her wavering resolve due to the "princess" routine.

He laughed lightly. "Well, I'm your knight, and this knight has one more quest to go on. I want to know the Royal family is safe, okay?"

"Okay," she said begrudgingly. He smiled lightly and then pushed her softly to go with her mother. The two made their way over to the group of fairies evacuating. He caught a glimpse of Holly's eyes before he turned and made his way to his sixth cabin. Opal was waiting for him.

**Oh snap! It is short. It is abrupt. It is crazy. But it isn't over yet.**


	9. The Deal

**Ugh! Just… just erase the entire chapter eight from your minds. Well, remember that Holly came to rescue the fairies and Artemis went to his sixth chamber to fend off an evil demon pixie. **

**I've told you once, and I'll tell you again! I like pie! ...oh… I didn't tell you that? Wait, let me check the script again… *starts mumbling to self while looking over papers* No, that's not it. Let's see here… Ah! I've told you once, and I'll tell you again! I- uh *looks down at paper* Wait, what? I don't own Artemis Fowl? What kind of sick, twisted world do we live in? (Yeah, I got a little carried away… In my defense, it was nearly one am, and I was bored!)**

"They've escaped, Opal," Artemis reported calmly.

"Don't play that serious card with me, Fowl," Opal said with a scowl, "I know you're just as happy about this as you were that time you figured out how to teach that little girl to heal herself." At this point, Foaly was very relieved with his decision to broadcast this to the rest of Haven.

Artemis grinned weakly, and started to patronize her, "It didn't go against the Deal, did it? How does it feel to have all those prisoners, and the only one you could ever hurt is the only one still here?"

At this, Opal gave a feral smile, "Still going on about that Deal, I see. I thought you would have realized by now that a Fairy Deal only works between fairies."

"Meaning it's only been tried between fairies. I guess we'll be the test of that," Artemis replied.

"What makes you think I'll break my side of the Deal so easily, Fowl?"

"The fact that you hold no self-control?" Artemis said, still in a patronizing voice.

"He's trying to bait her," Foaly muttered under his breath, forgetting that his voice would be broadcast as well. "Get over there, now, Holly!" he said urgently.

"I can't! I have to get this little girl! She ran off, shouting she can't leave without her night light or something!"

"Holly-" He was cut off by a pair of fairies bursting into the Ops Center. Foaly had to cut off a few of his security features to let the people currently living within their walls get in. Suffice it to say, he was a little upset that the rest of the fairies thought that meant they could just come barging in now. When he saw who it was, though, he pushed it from his mind.

Grub was standing in the doorway, stony-faced, holding a sobbing woman. "Where's Millie? Where's my baby? Tell me you know where she is!" the woman shouted through her sobs.

"Holly…" Foaly started slowly, "Could that little girl possibly be…?"

Holly's face drained of all color. It seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "You don't think…?"

Foaly nodded, forgetting Holly couldn't see him. "Holly, I want you to make sure Millie doesn't make it to Artemis. Opal will just see it as a way to exploit him. Go to Artemis. He's taking some… _drastic_ measures."

She looked at her com-link suspiciously. "How drastic?"

"Life or death, Holly. Life or death," Foaly responded solemnly.

"What the heck is wrong with him? What good would getting her to kill him do?"

"I'm sending you a link to hear his conversation with her. I don't think either of them knows they're being filmed. Well, there's a slight chance Opal knows, but I know for a fact that Artemis doesn't."

They all focused back on the conversation. They hadn't missed anything, considering all Artemis was trying to do was bait Koboi into killing him. Her expression was livid now. A seemingly uncontrollable tic started in her eye.

"You haven't been able to do much, have you, Opal?" Artemis asked, not bothering to hide his sarcastic sympathy. He no longer had to pretend. The others were safe, and now it was time to see if a Fairy Deal truly worked between a pixie and a human. "All those fairies within your grasp and just one mud boy with a piece of paper stood between you and their ultimate demise."

With practiced speed, the pixie pulled a gun from her pocket.

The crazed pixie lifted her gun and pointed it straight between her accomplice's eyes. "I can't take it anymore, Fowl! Someone has to die!" Her eyes darted around the room and settled on a spot in the corner. Artemis didn't have the will nor the ability to turn around to see what Opal was so interested in or why she was smiling in her demented state. He knew it wasn't good and decided he'd gotten enough bad news to last a lifetime. _Wouldn't Holly just love to see me, now_, he thought, staring down the barrel of the Captain's Neutrino. _I bet she'd rather be on the other end of it, though…_

Opal, meanwhile, held her gun aloft, gloating at the fact that she had the great Artemis Fowl II at gunpoint. "You recognize this little trinket, don't you, Arty? A certain friend lent it to me. Of course, I had to modify it a bit. It's a bit more humanlike, don't you think? I used Abbot's sword to make the bullets a long time ago," Her smile grew wider as his head snapped up, "That's right, Arty. It's magic-proof." She cackled madly again.

Artemis braced for the impact of the bullet he was sure was headed his way. The gunshot would end it all; no more homesickness, no more pain, no more acting. He was blissfully unaware of the wide, round eyes of most of his favorite people, watching him through the camera. He did notice, however, when a fast movement caught the corner of his eye. He didn't even bat an eyelash, hoping against hope that Opal wouldn't pick up on it. Opal noticed, however, and switched the direction of her gun while keeping her wildly pleasured eyes on the boy she had been determined to kill for years now. Before Artemis could react, she pulled the trigger, effectively hitting one of Artemis' very few weak spots: Holly.

**.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-Did I do that?-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**

Holly had been sure from the moment she had it that her nightmare was a premonition of sorts. Her grandmother taught her to never doubt the sanity of a magically enhanced dream. This dream, though, had been different. When she witnessed the death of little Millie, it had been choppy, as if it weren't a fully decided future. She refused to let it go to waste. That little girl was not going to die at the hands of that seriously crazed pixie. She followed the young girl to the chamber Arty and Opal would be in and promised her she would bring Arty back with her. She finally convinced the young elf to stay at the door. She then ran into the room, fully anticipating what was going to happen next.

The bullet bit into her abdomen. The shock of it kept the pain away at first. It also helped to keep a semi-clear head as she watched Artemis finish with Opal. She could clearly see his eyes from her vantage point near the doorway. Again, the icy blue one had pulled its mask of indifference. Had it not been for the sheer agony in the hazel one, she wouldn't have thought he'd cared at all that she was dying.

Opal suddenly screeched, dropping the gun and holding her hand as if it had burned her. Though still showing pain, somehow Artemis' hazel eye conveyed relief. She read his lips as he formed the words, "It worked."

That was when the pain started. It came in massive waves, clearing her mind of most coherent thought. Each wave was worse than the last, but somehow, this only served to help her concentrate better. She finally realized that she had been screaming. She also realized that someone was holding her and applying pressure to her wound. It hurt worse, so she tried to convey this to the person. She heard him whispering, "I know. Shh. I know." His voice was soothing and she tried to concentrate on that over the pain.

Through sheer will, she managed to do it. He was still murmuring softly and trying to stop the worst of the bleeding.

**.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-Are you kidding?-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**

"You hurt her, Opal. You broke the deal," Artemis said in a steely, emotionless voice.

"Ha! I told you, Fowl, only fairies can hold Fairy Deals! I tricked you into giving up everything to become my little test monkey. Now look what you've done. You got your little friend killed!" She cackled at that, as if it were the greatest thing that ever happened to her. "And now I'm going to kill you. Look I can still hold my little weapon! Where's your deal n- OW!" She dropped the gun as it burned her hand. She tried to pick it up again as Artemis nearly let out a sigh of relief.

"It worked," he stated simply.

Opal was absolutely livid now. She went to strangle Artemis, but magical restraints appeared out of nowhere and kept her in place.

"No way to get out of this one I'm afraid, Koboi. If Holly's here, I'm sure the LEP are on their way to retrieve the both of us. You know what, Opal? I don't think I care if they charge me guilty. As long as you're locked up, I'm happy. No more threats to the family, I presume?" Artemis said the last part sarcastically.

He then turned his attention to the doorway. He bolted to the spot where the bleeding elf lay. He knelt down next to her and started the medical treatment. She started thrashing as he murmured softly to her.

"This is entirely my fault," Artemis said, self-loathing and pain cracking his voice. "Holly, why'd you do it?"

He hadn't expected her to answer. "Well, I couldn't let you get killed." Her voice was weak, but it was still Holly.

He chuckled humorlessly, "I'd imagined it would've been you wanting to be on the trigger."

"I have my ways for figuring out your secrets, Mud Boy."

Artemis was shocked, "You knew?"

"I knew… something. I d-definitely didn't know… all of it, but I knew… enough."

"You should save your strength, Holly. Talking takes too much out of you."

"I… don't care. I'm going to hear… this thing out… to the end."

"There's not much to know. I made a deal with Opal." He stopped talking as she sucked in breath. Her eyes widened.

"Keep talking, Arty. It's distracting…"

Inspiration struck and Artemis' eyes lit up with a newfound hope. He chuckled and rested his hand on her forehead. "Did I ever tell you? I found out that humans have magic, too."

Holly gave him a sharp look, "You're joking, aren't you? Just what… the world needs: Mud men everywhere using a pure source of energy… for their dirty work. Thank you ever so much, Arty… Now I can die in peace." There wasn't as much pause in her speech, meaning the conversation truly was distracting her. She also somehow managed to find the energy to put a thick layer of sarcasm into her statement.

"No, Holly. This is different. A human's magic can only be tapped by powerful emotions."

Holly smirked, "And the great Artemis Fowl believes in emotions?"

Artemis laughed outright, a sound Holly cherished. It quickly died down to a chuckle, though a combination of humor and seriousness still shone in both eyes. "How could I not?" he asked softly. "I love you, Holly," he continued in an even softer voice.

Holly contemplated lying, but she was staring the man in the face. It was one of those extremely rare moments when both of the boy's mismatched eyes conveyed their owner's deepest emotions. She lifted herself as high as she could. She didn't have to go very far, considering Artemis was bent so close to her. She brought her eyes level with his and did something she never thought she'd do again, something she'd sworn she'd never let happen again.

Holly Short, of the LEP, kissed Artemis Fowl the Second for the second and most likely last time in her life_. Foaly had better have turned off that camera._

**Ah! I am very satisfied with that cliffy. Aren't you? (*dodges flaming shoes*) What was that? Did you** **just throw my own boots at me? Now that's just low. (again, it's late, and I'm bored…) Don't get your** **knickers in a twist! **


End file.
